What Katniss Doesn't Know
by theTurtleChelle
Summary: Gales secret love for her, Primroses secret observations. Feast your eyes on everything Katniss doesn't know.
1. What Katniss doesn't know about Gale

Katniss rubbed her clammy palms against the rough bark. The arrows kept slipping from her hands, every time she tried to shoot. Maybe it was the humid weather, or maybe……..Katniss dared herself to think it…..it was the dark haired boy some 5 yards away.

_I don't like Gale Hawthorne……at least not THAT way…_…

Katniss took a deep breath, and reminded herself that Gale probably only thought of her has a friend, or maybe even just a hunting partner. She hated the way the thought hurt her, almost as much as she hated the way her heart skipped a beat when Gale looked straight at her.

_I don't like Gale Hawthorne…… _she repeated to herself.

"Who don't you like?" The sandy sound of Gale's voice sounded behind her. Katniss realized that she must have said it out loud. "Oh, I…..the……I don't like the weather today….." Katniss pretended to re-tie her boots, as to hide her crimson face.

"Well, today's best for water voles. So are you gonna start REALLY hunting, or are you just gonna stand there till all the voles die of old age?" Gale grabbed Katniss' arm and pulled her up. Katniss flushed red all over again.

She stared up at Gale, hoping that she could detect some evidence, however small, that Gale had felt the same way she felt when he had touched her arm.

But staring back at her was only two grey pools of cold emptiness, as if she were staring at a stone. Choking back a sigh, Katniss realized that she was only a partner, someone who only existed in his life on days with fine hunting weather.

She trudged through the undergrowth, following Gale tightly.

_I don't like Gale Hawthorne…_

_._Katniss sighed, and tried to swallow the lump forming in her throat.

Suddenly a buzz sounded in the air. Katniss had stepped on an alarm. Normally she would have seen the big neon circle, but today……

The wooshing sound of helicopters was bearing down on her.

_Oh no, Gale!_

Katniss started running through the woods, she had to find Gale and warn him. Her braid slapped against her face as she whipped her head from side to side, trying to spot the lanky shadow of Gale.

"There! It's the girl!" She could hear voices behind her getting closer and closer. "Where's the boy?" Another voice cut through the air.

Katniss whipped behind a tree, letting leafy branches obscure her from view. Then her heart sank, she could hear deep breathing close to her. She didn't dare look at the person beside her.

_Gale…save me_……

"Catnip! I should have never agreed to be partners with you, I should have known that all Everdeens were the same." Gale was glaring at her.

Katniss' relief turned to anger. How dare he bring that up. 7 year ago, Gale's father and Katniss' father were caught hunting, because Katniss' father had stepped on an alarm. Now…..

"I guess neon circles are just too camouflaged for the Everdeens." Gale leered coldly.

Katniss had had enough, all the emotions started swelling up, the hate, the fear, the anger…the love……..

Katniss brought her hand down on his face hard. She whipped around, not wanting to see the hand mark on Gale's face, and ran off.

If she had looked back, maybe just a glance, she would have seen long olive-skinned fingers reach up and softly touch the spot where she had just made her mark.


	2. What Katniss doesn't know about Prim

Primrose Everdeen

I know Katniss wants everyone to think she's as tough as a stone, and she certainly does her part well. But I've seen her drop her guard, she has a soft spot.

Katniss doesn't know that I saw, but I wasn't asleep when she came back. Of course, I knew she had been out hunting with Gale.

But as soon as she came in I knew something was wrong. Katniss had curled up in a corner, like an abandoned puppy.

I really wanted to go and curl up beside her, but I knew that would make it worse.

"Why am I so stupid? It was right _there_ in front of me!"

She kept scolding herself about something.

The next morning, I assumed she would tell me about it.

But she didn't.

We tell each other everything!

When Katniss came out from her room, her eyes were all puffy, like she had been crying. I offered to put some tea bags over her eyes to reduce the swelling, but she refused. Of course, those were the last few tea bags we had left.

She didn't say a word all through breakfast. Then suddenly…

"I don't want to go hunting with that jerk. Prim, you go. I'll look after Lady."

Don't want to go hunting? With that jerk? Does that mean Gale? Me go hunting?

Right then, I knew this _thing_, whatever it was, was affecting Katniss a lot.

When I tried talking to her, she just shrugged it off. "I tripped on a stone, look, here's the scratch."

I knew that scratch was already about a week old, but pretended to believe her.

Then Gale came. He usually meets Katniss in the forest…?

"Katniss, listen to me. Listen!"

He was talking desperately, like his life depended on it.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have…"

"Shouldn't have what? Abandoned me in the forest, had me step on an alarm, and then scream my head off on something that can't be helped?" Katniss' face was flushed, her eyes glaring.

I've never seen her this angry at Gale. There is always this tenderness in her eyes every time she looks at him, kind of like the way she looks at me.

"Sort of. Yeah." Gale is grinning now.

"Well I don't accept your apology." Katniss whips around, her braid flinging in Gales face.

I know Katniss is waiting for him to follow her. If he does, then she forgives him, if he doesn't, he'll be dead to her forever. It's the trick she used on me the time I got angry at her for shouting at mother.

Gale is standing there, dumbstruck. _Follow her, you idiot!_

Then…

"Katniss wait! " Gale is running to her now.

Though she has her back turned to me, I know she's smiling.


	3. Katniss has a Sweet 16

"Are you coming, Gale?" Katniss was twirling her braid nervously.

"Coming where?"

"My birthday party, stupid!" Katniss turned red as she quickly added, "My mom says I should invite you."

Gale was frowning now, "Birthday Parties aren't something that we can afford." His voice was steady, but as emotionless as a peacekeeper.

Katniss groaned annoyed, "This is the first birthday party i've had in 16 years, and I'm 16 years old! Don't you think I at least get to have one on my sweet sixteen?"

_And I really want an excuse to spend more time with you..._

"What is it with you girls and your sweet sixteens? I never saw you as a trend-follower Katniss."

"Why can't I be normal, just for once, Gale? Just because I'm a girl from the Seam doesn't mean I'm not a girl!" Katniss stood up angrily. "And If you don't want to come, then don't! I've got plenty of other friends, nobody will notice you gone."

_Except for the birthday girl._

Gale smirked as he grabbed her wrist, pulling her back on to the stone hedge. "Calm down, I never said I wasn't coming."

Katniss pretended to hesitate a moment before sitting down again, her back against Gale's shoulder.

...

"So, are you coming?"

"No."

Katniss tried not to show the hurt in her eyes. Gale was humming a soft tune, and she didn't want to ruin the moment.

"Fine. I'm going to go and prepare for the party now. Don't come begging for an invite later on." She jumped off the stone hedge huffily, glaring at Gale.

Gale just shrugged, and staring into the ground.

_He doesn't even care! When is he going to realize that I..._

Katniss shook the thought out of her head, as she trudged through the undergrowth, heading for the fence. The wind was cutting across her face, freezing her from head to toe.

_Love him. _

...

Gale showed up at our doorstep around noon, a parcel in his hands.

He asked me if today was Katniss' birthday, and I say yes, how did he know? He said that word had gotten around.

When he handed me the parcel, there was this shyness in his eyes. I wasn't used to that kind of Gale, he was usually very confident.

"Umm,this is my mother's present. Tell Katniss my mom says hi, and...that she's sorry she can't show up at the party." He was blushing pretty badly.

"Sure I'll do that." I pretended not to notice the redness seeping into his cheeks as I set the parcel on the table.

Gale turned around to step out the door, when he suddenly whipped back.

"Prim?"

"What,Gale?"

"Tell Katniss that my mom really...likes her and that she is the most important girl in my mothers life."

"Okay...? Anything else?"

"No...just that." Gale was already rushing out the door, and I realized that Katniss must be near home.

"Are you gonna be at the party?" I tried to ask, but Gale was already gone from sight.

...

"Open the presents, Katniss!" Madge was laughing.

Katniss rips open Madge's present. It's an apothecary box.

"Thanks!" Katniss' smile is forced, she rarely helps with the herbs, an apothecary box wasn't much use.

It is around 8:00 that we get around to the last parcel. Gale's present. Compared to the other ones,it seems small and muddy-looking.

"Ew, who gave you that one!" Gretchen, a blonde haired girl, wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Katniss, however, was smiling broadly at the messily scrawled words on the parcel. "From: A Hawthorne".

She rips it open carefully, like she doesn't want to ruin the paper.

Gale's present is a jacket. An old one. Katnisses old one.

"What kind of present is _that?_" Gretchen was scoffing. I don't like that girl.

Katniss doesn't answer, she is too busy tracing the newly sewn rips and patches. Someone clearly spent a lot of time fixing her jacket.

"That's Gale's moms present to you. " I have to keep my promises, though I know it will hurt Katniss.

You can see the glow fade from Katnisses eyes, and her head droops again like she's really tired.

_Don't be sad, Katniss. _

_Remember that shadow we saw stealing sewing needles from Gale's mother? Remember that same shadow sewing under the street light? _

_You couldn't see clearly through all the mist on the window. But I could. _

_It was Gale Hawthorne. _


	4. Broken Brakes

**Catching Fire never happened. All victors have to go live in the Capitol, and they can take whoever they want. Katniss brings Gale and his family, her mother and Prim decide to stay in District 12. **

It was about 16 months after Katniss had come out of the arena alive, and gone to live in the Capitol with Peeta.

Katniss ran her fingers through her silky capitol-conditioner hair. Her eyes traveled from the shiny brown hair, to the soft delicate hands raking themselves through. Her fingers were elegant and fair-skinned; nobody would suspect that she was a hunter once upon a time.

She sighed at the stranger in the mirror. It was still hard to accept that she was one of the Capitol already, even after a year of adapting.

A car rushed past outside Katniss suppressed a yelp; how she hated those noisy machines.

Katniss looked away, not wanting to freak herself out before her meeting with Gale.

Gale had been really distant after the whole incident with the Games. Sure, he still kept Katniss company, but it just wasn't the same.

Tonight, they were going to see a movie. Katniss hoped that it would melt the ice between them.

Gale was picking her up in his motorcycle. Unlike Katniss, he had no problem adapting to Capitol life, though his loathing for them is still unwavering, he seemed to accept that he won't be going back to District 12.

"Katniss!"

Gale's sandy voice floated inside. Gale rarely called her Catnip now, as if that name had been left behind in District Twelve.

Katniss pushed back her chair, and ran outside.

…

"How's that for a movie!" Katniss said through a stiff plastic smile.

Gale had been mostly quiet throughout the whole movie, only glancing warily at Katniss from time to time.

They climbed onto Gale's motorcycle, and sped off into the darkness.

…

"Are we there yet?" Katniss prodded Gale in the back for the umpteenth time.

"NO!" Gale sped up.

They flew through the icy air; Katniss gripped Gale's shoulders tightly.

"Gale….?"

"What!"

"Can you slow down?"

"No. Doesn't it feel like we are flying?"

"Yeah, but this is dangerous."

"Fine, you want me to slow down, and then you have to take off my helmet, and put it on. I can't see properly."

"But I'll look ridiculous in that helmet."

"Do you want me to slow down or not!"

"Fine."

…..

"Why aren't you slowing down?"

"I did!"

"No you didn't!"

"Well, if you want me to then you have to hug me tightly."

"What does that even have to do….."

"JUST DO IT."

'Alright, alright."

….

"Gale! Stop going so fast! I did what you told me to do."

"One last condition."

"WTF? Are you going mad? Do you want us to die?"

"Just listen to me, Catnip."

That familiar name jerked Katniss back to sanity.

"Say…..say I love you Gale"

"What…I…I love you. There, can you slow down now?"

"I love you, too."

….

_Where is Gale? Why am I in a hospital room?_

_A doctor is coming in. _

_Doctor, where is my Gale? Where is he?_

_No….no…he can't be._

_He can't be dead. _

_We…we were on a motorcycle, and there must've been some sort of crash, but…_

_Turns out, the brakes had broken down. _

_Gale had known all along… _


End file.
